PASSAGE - 1
i) Abou Ben Adhem was a ruler of Balkh. He lived a noble life. He dedicated his life to the service of his humanity. By 'may his tribe increase' the poet prays to God that men like Abou may increase . The narrator holds Abou in high esteem.
ii) Abou was a man of clean conscious. He had no enemies. He had no worries. He was a saintly man, and so he always had a peaceful, and undisturbed sleep.
iii) Abou's room looked bright in the moonlight night. The angel looked like a lily that was going to bloom because in the moonlight the radiant angel looked brighter and more beautiful.
iv) Abou saw an angel in his room. The angel was writing in a golden book. The book of gold refers to heavenly book in which good deeds of mortals are recorded.
v) The next night the angel came again with dangling light which awakened Abou from his peaceful sleep. He showed Abou the list of men whom God loved. To Abou's surprise, he found his name on the top of the list.
PASSAGE – 2
i) The angel is referred to as 'the presence' in this extract. Abou asks the presence what he is writing in the golden book.
ii) The angel is referred to as 'the vision' here. He raised his head to answer Abou's question.
iii) The angel tells Abou that he was writing the names of those men who loved God.
iv) Abou is curious to know if his name is also there among those who love God. Abou is not dis-hearted. But he is more humble and polite. The angel's reply does not dishearten Abou. The words 'But cheerly still' tell us that he was not disheartened. Very politely and cheerfully he requests the angel to write his name among those who love their fellow humans.
PASSAGE – 3
i) The angel conceded to Abou's request and wrote his name as one who loved his fellow men. Then the angel vanished. He appeared again the next night. He showed Abou that his name was on the top of the list whom God loved.
ii) Abou Ben Adhem was not strictly a religious man. He did not worship God. He just served every human who needed any help. But God was pleased with him. God loved him because he loved his creation.
iii)
(a) The angel appeared again with such a dazzling light that awakened Abou.
(b) It came to Abou as a great surprise that his name was on the top of those men whom god had blessed with his love.
iv) The angel showed Abou a list of those men whom God loved. It was absolutely surprising that the man who was not one among those who loved God, led the list of those men whom God loved.
v) The theme of the poem is simple. Service to humanity is the true worship of God. God loves those who love their fellow human beings.